"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than the next, moves slowly, over periods of years from one part of the earth to another." -Paul Bowles

Saturday, 1 February 2014

The View from Where I Write

This month I'll be attempting to keep up with the Expat Blog Challenge. 28 days in a row seems a bit ambitious, given my lack of writing over the past few years, but a kick in the pants never hurts. The theme for each day will be in the subject line of the post, and today's topic is the view from where I write.

Whether I write in my cosy office at the back of the house, or sitting on the sofa in our front room, when I look up, I see eucalypt (gum) trees soaring overhead. They tower over the neighbourhood homes, constantly dropping nuts, leaves, and sometimes even branches as thick as a body builder's leg and longer than a pick-up truck. The interesting thing about gumtrees is that no matter how big they get, whether they threaten to fall on your house or person, you cannot cut them down. They're protected, and once they get to a certain size, as beautiful as they are to look at, they can become a real pan in the arse. I could spend hours every week cleaning up after these monsters, clean the gutters three times a year, and have enough kindling to last all winter. It's a love hate relationship, similar to expat life. Something to enjoy the beauty of, you never quite get over the uniqueness, but the labour of it all can be exhausting at times.

Australia

About Me

The adventures of an American expat living in Australia with her Aussie husband, looking for tips on yoga centres, people to swap recipes and gardening tips with, and to meet up with other childfree by choicers and/or expats to Adelaide.

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"Life in a foreign country is a dance of submission and resistance. Self-knowledge comes in small repeated shocks as you find yourself giving in easily, with a struggle, or not at all." -Rhiannon Paine